Styling Tips: Jolyn’s Guide to Mixing Brights

This week, our go-to area manager and stylist Jolyn gives us the dish on pairing bold colors! Check out her fabulous outfits and tips below.

Mixing and matching colors can sometimes be a risky little game to play. While you don’t want to look like your outfit is “tasting the rainbow,” you also don’t want to be that color-shy girl who sticks to pairing a single color (or no color at all) with black, white or plain denim. Rest assured, I am here to help. Use a color wheel (as illustrated below) to help create harmonious color combinations and, I promise, mixing and matching will suddenly be a cinch.

It works like this: pick a color on the wheel, then use the color section directly opposite to find a shade that’s complementary. And color wheels go beyond just outfits—it’s also genius to use one if you want your pedi and mani to “mesh well” or even to coordinate makeup colors. So pop open that bag of rainbow-hued candy and get inspired, because nothing says summer like a bit of color.

Nothing heats up a safari jacket more than a pop of red—and yes, while this olive green jacket would look perfectly A-okay paired with neutrals and denim, that look would be so expected, while the pop of red is so incredibly unexpected yet completely color complementary. Dark hues also look amazing paired with gold as gold has a tendency to “warm up” any look, so while it might not be hot yet in your neck of the woods, this outfit will warrant turning up the AC.

This look is quite the visual illusion. What may seem like a sherbet-y fun miniskirt is really a bodycon dress layered under this gorgeous blue asymmetric top. Not only is this color combo coordinated oh so well, but layering on a top is a fun way to change the look of a form-fitting dress. Wearing more flowy pieces over form-fitting ones adds a different and stylish dynamic to an outfit…especially when you’re layering with colors! Since you’re mixing different textures (and colors) in this look, keep accessories neutral as seen here with the beige clutch and shoes, both with pops of gold. This look will keep you bright all night and even into the wee hours of the morning.

Yellow and purple is one of my favorite color pairings as it’s so beautifully unexpected. While it may be an “aggressive” color combo for you if you are “color cautious,” think of smaller ways to pop color into your look. This flowy dress, I must admit, is a lot of yellow, so while I don’t recommend pairing it with a purple blazer or even painting your walls with these two colors (as the color wheel also works wonders for home decor), use the complementary color as an accent as seen here with this perfectly polished purple mani. Not only are you adding color to your look in a visually appealing way, but really, who can argue with an outfit that’s clearly so put together?